


Prisoner

by wisdomofme



Series: FT Angst Week 2015 [7]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, FTAngstWeek, FTAngstWeek2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 11:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4623045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdomofme/pseuds/wisdomofme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt 7 of FT Angst Week: E.N.D<br/>Lucy is Lucy, why was that so hard to remember?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prisoner

What was it that Happy had told her future self?

_“Lucy is Lucy!”_

Oh, that’s right. It had become more difficult to remember things like that recently. She’d have to try to remember that one.

Lucy’s eyes fluttered close for a moment as she rested on the soft sheets of the king sized bed she slept in at night. The king sized bed for the king sized room in a king sized palace. Sometimes she wished she could go back to her Lucy sized bed in her Lucy sized apartment but such hopeless dreams were better off forgotten.

Now she had far simpler dreams, far more realistic dreams of fading away to nothing. Ah, now that was a fate she could still hope for.

The sound of her door being pushed open echoed in her ears and the voice that had once drawn a grin to her face followed it.

“Lucy.”

It had been so long since she smiled. Since he had made her smile. Now all that she could manage was to pull herself upright and swing her legs over the side of the bed. Her glassy eyes settled on the figure of her best friend standing in the doorway and all she wanted to do was scream.

Scream and cry and run.

She could hardly recognise him. His eyes were cool, as if he were barely interested in the world around him, and the bright grin that she had once associated solely with him was absent, replaced only by a cruel smirk.

He was a completely different person. But, then again, she wasn’t quite the same either.

“Luce,” he called out to her again and his voice reminded her of better times, happier times. “Com’on, it’s time to come out. Everyone’s waiting.”

Were they? Once upon a time, when Natsu said everyone he meant his family. Fairy Tail. But the only place they’d be waiting now was in death.

The thought filled Lucy with a white hot anger she hadn’t felt in a long time. She had become so apathetic to the world but the memory of her family tied up and bleeding, dying as the suns ray’s scorched their skin, reminded her of what this monster had taken from her.

What Natsu had taken from her.

All of a sudden, she didn’t want to scream. She wanted to rage. She wanted to stand upon the roof of this blood soaked palace and cry out her hatred for the man she had once trusted with her life.

But try as she might she couldn’t even move her lips to form the words of anger she wanted to scream at him.

Instead, all that left her was a sigh and the murmur of, “Natsu.”

“That’s the way Luce,” the monster showed off his false smile and stepped forward to take her hands in his own. “I promise it won’t take long.”

Natsu pulled her slowly to her feet and began to lead her to the door and Lucy willed herself to snatch her hands back, to push him away, to claw his eyes out and leave him bleeding like he had done to her friends.

But her hands didn’t even twitch.

Because Lucy was trapped, trapped within her own body. Forced to watch the world burn with a dead gaze and a scream that would never make it past her lips.

The two of them, the demon king and the lifeless doll of a girl, passed through the door and began their steady march down the dark corridor. The only source of light in this chilling place we the candles that hung on the walls, and they were few and far between. But the light wasn’t necessary as their walk wasn’t long, Lucy could already see their destination. A curtained balcony from which the king could address each and every one of his subjects.

She had almost forgotten about the planned announcement today. That, or she had tried to forget.

Their pace slowed as they reached the rich red curtains and Natsu pulled her to a halt just before they passed through.

“Are you excited?” Natsu asked her in a soft voice that made her want to start screaming again. “Everyone else is.”

A slow and jerky nod was the only response he got, but it appeared to be enough to appease him.

Natsu glance once more at the curtain, and Lucy would’ve thought him nervous if it weren’t for the fact that he was a soulless monster that _had_ no emotions, before turning back to her.

“They said that you should wear nicer clothes for the announcement today, but I knew you wouldn’t want to wear one of those stuffy dresses,” he shrugged and a shadow of a smile passed his lips. “And I like your normal clothes better anyway.”

The lifeless husked made no attempt to respond, but it didn’t appear that Natsu was looking for one. Instead he took one last breath, almost as if to calm himself, and threw open the curtains.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the harsh light they had just been bombarded with and then she wished that she could’ve stayed blinded forever.

Over the edge of the balcony she could see the gathered crowd, ready to hear today’s announcement, but not one of them looked like they were glad to hear it. The only expression she could make out on anyone’s face was defeat.

It was the same feeling that threatened to drown her every day.

As she and Natsu stepped out onto the balcony, she noted the presence of Zeref and the demon books that he had revived standing on the balcony beside them. Each of them bowed their heads in respect as Natsu passed them, but not one of them spared her a glance. She guessed it was better that way.

Zeref smiled, or as close as he could get, and stepped forward to clap Natsu on the back.

“Congratulations brother,” he said and Natsu nodded in thanks, his own grin spreading across his face. “And you, dear Lucy. You look radiant this morning.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, but not a single trace of emotion could be heard in her voice.

She wished she could scream all of her hateful thoughts in his face but, even as her rage reached its peak, her expression remained impassive and distant. She hated this. She hated him, she hated everything.

She just wanted to be free of this prison.

“Shall I make the announcement?” Zeref asked and Natsu nodded without his once contagious enthusiasm.

Zeref turned towards the silent mass below and stood before the edge of the balcony. As he opened his mouth to speak, Lucy tried her best to block out the sound of his voice, but she couldn’t keep out everything. Not today.

“And finally, may I present to you, your Lord E.N.D and his bride, Lucy Heartfilia!”

Applause rose from the crowd but it was a sad sound, without joy or celebration, and Natsu stepped forward to wave to his people, tugging Lucy forward with his other hand. A smile spread across his face as her hand rose to wave alongside his and Lucy began to sob.

Even though she felt the pain and despair just as keenly as she had in the past, not a single tear formed in her eyes, they remained glassy and emotionless. No longer a reflection of how she felt inside.

_‘Lucy is Lucy.’_

Happy’s words echoed in her mind but they could do nothing to ease her pain, because how could she be Lucy when she had no control over who is was anymore.

Beside the prison that walked and talked, the demon king gazed upon the crowd and ignored the screamed apologies that rang in his mind.

Given enough time, the dragon boy would stop on his own.

**Author's Note:**

> ONE MORE PROMPT TO GO!!! The end is so close I can taste it!!!  
> (I hope you guys all forgive me for keeping you waiting- I'll see you all soon with the last prompt of the series!)


End file.
